The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or a multifunction peripheral, using electrographic process.
An image forming apparatus using electrographic process is configured so as to transfer a toner image carried on an image carrier (for example, a photosensitive drum) to a transferred body (for example, a recording medium, such as a sheet, or an intermediate transfer belt) by a transferring member (for example, a transferring roller). In the image forming apparatus configured by such a manner, in a case of applying an organic photoreceptor, particularly a monolayer organic photoreceptor having a charge generating agent and a charge transport agent in the same layer, as the image carrier, if image forming operation is carried out after the apparatus is stopped for a few hours, influence of a volatile substance contained in the transferring member on the image carrier may cause a lateral stripe on an image.
Such an image failure is easily caused in a case where temperature and humidity in the outside of the apparatus (the apparatus outside) are low, but avoided by carrying out aging operation rotating the image carrier and bringing a cleaning member in sliding contact with a surface of the image carrier before forming the image. However, in a configuration carrying out this aging operation for a predetermined period every time, the aging operation is carried out for the predetermined period even in a case where the lateral stripe is not inclined to be caused on the image (for example, a case where the temperature and humidity in the apparatus outside are high). According to this, a first print time (a time until a first print is completed) is unnecessarily lengthened, thereby applying a stress to a user. In order to avoid such a situation, it is considered that the aging operation is carried out for a necessary time on the basis of information from sensors detecting the temperature and humidity.
However, because a humidity sensor is a relatively expensive part, adaption of the humidity sensor causes increase in cost. Therefore, particularly in a low segment machine (a low price machine), it is difficult to meet request of further price reduction.